Leonard J. Arrington

Brigham Young comes to life in this superlative biography that presents him as a Mormon leader, a business genius, a family man, a political organizer, and a pioneer of the West. Drawing on a vast range of sources, including documents, personal diaries, and private correspondence, Leonard J. Arrington brings Young to life as a towering yet fully human figure, the remarkable captain of his people and his church for thirty years, who combined piety and the pursuit of power to leave an indelible stamp on Mormon society and the culture of the Western frontier. From polygamy to the Mountain Meadows Massacre to the attempted preservation of Young's Great Basin Kingdom, we are given a fresh understanding of the controversies that plagued Young in his contentious relations with the federal government. Brigham Young draws its subject out of the marginal place in history to which the conventional wisdom has assigned him, and sets him squarely in the American mainstream, a figure of abiding influence in our society to this day.

Conflict between matters of faith and historical truth has been a conundrum at the heart of doing and telling the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church). Some of the best essays on that topic were written by Leonard J. Arrington, perhaps the best-known member of the group of professionals who founded the New Mormon History of the late twentieth century. Now, Arrington's essay on history and the Mormons are collected in a single source work.Arrington rose to prominence during the so-called "flowering of Mormon history." In a precedent-breaking move, he was made Church Historian in January 1972, the first professional historian to serve in the position.His ideas, as expressed in the essays collected here, helped to determine how Mormon history was written during the last part of the twentieth century. Arrington sought a middle way between the extremes of defending or attacking faith claims--two forces that drove most nineteenth-century and even much twentieth-century writing on the Mormons. He not only adopted a neutral stance in his writing as LDS Historian, his name became connected inseparably with the New Mormon History because of his personality and the quality of his work.The fourteen essays offered here are autobiographical, reflective, analytical, personal, and prophetic. Together, they constitute an illuminating study of the challenges faced by all who study history and face the conflicts its telling involves.Supplementing the essays are a biographical sketch by historian Ronald W. Walker, a chronology of Arrington's life, and a detailed bibliography of his published works and speeches, prepared by David J. Whitaker. A personal tribute to Arrington is given by his daughter, historian Susan Arrington Madsen.The book has a bibliography and index. It is bound in rust linen cloth, has a foil stamped spine and a full-color dust jacket.

Leonard Arrington, who died in 1999, is considered by most, if not all, serious scholars of Mormon and western history as the single most important figure to write on LDS history. Great Basin Kingdom is perhaps his greatest work. A classic in Mormon studies and western history, Great Basin Kingdom offers insights into the ‘underdeveloped' American economy, a comprehensive treatment of one of the few native American religious movements, and detailed, exciting stories from little-known phases of Mormon and American history. This edition includes thirty new photographs and an introduction by Ronald W. Walker that provides a brief biography of Arrington, as well as the history of the work, its place in Mormon and western historiography, and its lasting impact.

This exciting volume uses closeup looks at nineteen Mormon dissenters to focus on the variety of religious sentiment within the Mormon church and to explore how it has encouraged divergent ideas from the early 1800s through modern times. "An absolute necessity for anyone interested in the history/direction of the Latter Day Saint Movement." -- Gerald John Kloss, Latter Day Saint History "Well done. . . . Respectful and professional." -- Lynn D. Wardle, BYU Studies "Makes a valuable contribution to our improved understanding of the rich heritage and faith of Mormonism." -- Milan D. Smith Jr., Sunstone "An important and thought-provoking book." -- Lola Van Wagenen, Utah Historical Quarterly "A splendid collection. . . . Essential reading for anyone interested even slightly in the Restoration movement." -- Paul Shupe, The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal

From the preface: "Brigham Young was the supreme American paradox, not because he contained elements foreign to American soil but because he united them--the business genius of a Rockefeller with the spiritual sensitivities of an Emerson, the lusty enjoyments of the pleasures of good living with the tenderness of a Florence Nightingale. He was not merely an entrepreneur with a shared vision of America as the Promised Land; he was a prophet with visions of his own and he built beyond himself."